Dr Rakesh Kumar
Ramanujan Faculty Fellow
Dr Rakesh Kumar
Ramanujan Faculty Fellow
Dr. Rakesh Kumar has obtained his B.Sc. (Honours) in Chemistry from Banaras Hindu University in 2010, followed by an M.Sc. in Biotechnology from the University of Calicut in 2012. After this,he completed his M.Tech. in Biomedical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) in 2014 and earned his Ph.D. in Biosciences from IIT Bombay in 2019 under the supervision of Prof. Samir K. Maji. His doctoral research focused on the molecular mechanisms of α-synuclein aggregation associated with Parkinson’s disease, with significant contributions to understanding amyloid structure, toxicity, and aggregation pathways.
Following his Ph.D., Dr. Kumar joined Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, as a Postdoctoral Researcher (2019–2025). During his postdoctoral training, he worked extensively on the inhibition of amyloid-β aggregation, identifying key residues of amyloid-β peptides that interact with molecular chaperones, leading to effective suppression of fibril formation. In parallel, he contributed to the development of novel biomarker strategies for the detection of dementia with Lewy bodies, including ultrasensitive seed-amplification assays using patient cerebrospinal fluid.
Dr. Kumar is now (January 2026 onwards) working as Ramanujan (Faculty) Fellow in Department of Biomedical Engineering, IIT Ropar.
Experience:
Ramanujan (faculty) Fellow (January 2026-till date)
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar, Punjab
Postdoctoral Researcher (January 2024-September 2025)
Department of Neurobiology, Care sciences and Society (NVS), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Postdoctoral Researcher (September 2019-December 2023)
Department of Bioscience and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet (QS 10 in Life science and Medicine, 2025), Stockholm,
Sweden
Research Associate (December 2018-May 2019)
Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering (BSBE), IIT Bombay, Mumbai, India
Education:
Ph.D. Biosciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (2014-2019)
M.Tech. Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (2012-2014)
M.Sc. Biotechnology, University of Calicut (2010-2012)
B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry, Banaras Hindu University (2007-2010)
Research Interest:
Protein aggregation in Neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer Disease, Parkinson Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Protein Biochemistry and Engineering, small molecules and chaperones inhibiting protein aggregation,Biomarker for disease diagnosis.